Парк "Сосновка"

One of the biggest blessings of our new home is the large wooded 'park' nearby. We've enjoyed snow, snow and more snow so far. But today, the rain began. It's 36F (3C) and raining. So, after weeks of telling the boys, "We better enjoy the sledding because next week the snow might be gone," it will finally come true. On that note, yesterday I finally took some pictures.

Yesterday, Danya celebrated his 7th birthday! We made a day of it, spending the morning at the nearby Aquapark, and the evening with a few friends. It was low-key but fun for all!

And now, we’re moving! After a delightful month with the Huddlestons (see photo below for Chris reading the typical bedtime story to all five. How did the Birdsalls do it?) we are finally moving in to our new apartment today. The landlords have already had the furniture constructed, we’ve bought some groceries, and taken the kids to see the new place. I think another trip to IKEA and a big grocery store is needed, but hopefully we’ll be settled in soon!

If you want to see where in the city it is, check out this map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=115934531538879988704.00045ba65e85b385ab881&t=h&ll=60.022925,30.370502&spn=0.002557,0.009613&z=17
However, we won’t have internet set up until at least Tuesday. Eric will be checking email often, and I’ll try to get to someone’s house occasionally, but don’t expect any responses for a few days!

Ella's Markers

Playpen time is usually without incident. Ella plays happily in her crib every morning for an hour or even more. But in a new environment, she's become more adventurous.

One day last week, she was very quiet, for a long time. I should have known.

And it turns out that Ella can reach the dresser and shelves next to her crib. She found Nate or Nick's pencil case.

Yes, her arms were covered, as well as lines into her mouth, nose and both ears.

A Flat!

This morning, we had the idea to see what two room flats were available in the neighborhood. This evening, we looked at one that we LOVE! It is in a new building, the tall one behind the Edings. It is remodeled beautifully, and no one has ever lived in it. The landlords are a young couple with two girls who live in the same building. They are taking us to IKEA on Saturday to pick out which furniture we want, and anything else we need!

It will be an adjustment to live with only two rooms. That's a one-bedroom in American terms. But Eric and I are ready to take the plunge to having a living-room/bedroom like most Russian families. And the kitchen is large enough for our family to all sit at a table--which was the one thing we weren't finding in the older buildings.

We'll move in March 14th, after the furniture is delivered. Danya is very happy that we get to stay at the Huddlestons' for his birthday on the 13th.

Life in St Pete at the Huddlestons'

Right outside the Huddlestons building is this very decent playground. There are at least five others within less than five minutes walk.

From that playground, the view of the huge forested 'park' across the street. It's the best part of this neighborhood. Old men on skiis, young kids learning to ski, sledding everywhere, and even a pond for skating. Last week, we took the kids there--it's about 10 minutes walk at their pace. Even Ella insisted on trying, though she had to wait for Tima to first get tired and give his up!

The Huddlestons beautiful, new building. The nicest I've ever experienced in Russia.

Coe kids cuddling on the couch in the morning. This red couch has a comfortable bed which Eric and I unfold to sleep at night. When Eric was in Moscow for three days, I didn't bother! And the kids still wanted to crawl in to cuddle in the morning.

Down Day

I've been meaning to write and let you know how beautiful the snowy woods are across the street, how comfortable to live with the Huddlestons, and how thankful we are for the easiest transition ever!

But today was my first down day. I was tempted to wait and write tomorrow, or whenever I'm feeling more positive. But in the interest of transparency, I'll share how I'm doing today, and not try to shine it up...though hopefully, tomorrow I'll have to update you with how happy I am, so you don't worry!

Today was frustrating. The third day of Eric’s three-day trip to Moscow. (Which has been easy overall, as Trisha and I have been able to trade off some childcare, and she still does most of the cooking! And the four boys are still loving playing together.)

I went to look at another flat, without Eric. One that was very close by, but in terrible condition. It’s actually bigger than the ones we’ve been looking at—the refrigerator fit in the kitchen, unlike the last two where it was in a hall or a closet—but we still couldn’t have fit around the table to eat. And it was smelly and dark and the paint was peeling terribly. And then the realtor told me that there were two different really nice places, just farther away. But that means having to ride the tram 3 or 5 stops. Last time I did that, it took 30 minutes. (Which was due to an unusual traffic jam, but still!) And sometimes the trams don’t come for 10 minutes. So it’s hard to do with the kids and not get exhausted. We so much want to be near the Huddlestons, so that we can see each other, help each other and the kids can be with their friends a lot!

Tomorrow when Eric’s back we’re going to look at one of the farther away apartments. The nice thing is that rents are falling, so hopefully we’ll be paying about 50-60% of what we were paying in Kiev. But it’s been really frustrating to only see four places in two weeks, and feel none of them are really good options. So you can pray for wisdom for us. It’s so hard to choose between a place that’s in poor condition, tiny, but close by, and one that’s farther away but nice and big. It just depresses me to think of being that far away. But we can’t stay here with the Huddlestons forever (gracious as they are!) and soon we'll have to accept one of the not-ideal options. I think I’m frustrated with God, because we’ve been praying for this for so long, and I just think, “How hard can it be, in this place of high-rise apartments all over, to just have one decent one for rent nearby?” I know His plans are not mine, and want to not be resentful over withheld answers to our prayers. But today, that was hard.

It doesn’t help that yesterday the temperature rose above zero, and the snow got slushy, and I can’t push the stroller at all anymore. And the kids got soaked immediately on the playground . Even after all day on the radiators, the coats and snowpants and mittens and boots and hats are not all dry. And since we lived through the wet transition in Kiev during January, I know exactly what we’re in for--but worse. There’s been a lot of snow here, and we’ve been loving it! But that means a lot to melt. Already, the crosswalks are guarded by puddles, and I have to choose between getting my feet soaked or walking a big detour (hard with the stroller and 2-4 boys taggin along). It’s going to be messy. If it was warm maybe that would help, but I don’t count 35F as warm!

So, that's where I am tonight. Hopefully some sleep, a husband home and a day of rest will bring some optimism to the next post!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

"How old are you, Ella?"

"Twooo!"

We kept things simple, just a dinner with our team. The dairy free cake was chocalaty and delicious!

It was a little complicated because while we were preparing dinner, Eric (with a lot of help from Chris and Cheryl) was clearing customs, loading our shipped boxes and bringing them home through rush hour traffic. They delivered them just in time for dinner!

Ella enjoyed her gifts, especially the play phone that the boys gave her. She woke up this morning calling for her 'shoes'.

Potty training

Ella has surprised us with her desire to be out of diapers. She wakes up in the mornings calling out, "Daddy, Ella pee!" And she loves to go together with anybody to the bathroom. She figured out how to go on the potty, and can almost anytime she goes. She does occasionally initiate--announcing loudly her desire to go. But when I leave her diaper off for long, she usually wets her pants. We weren't really excited about the timing of this, but as soon as we get settled here in St Pete, we're going to jump off the potty-training cliff!

retro post-- Last days in Kiev

We commissioned Tanya, our babysitter's daughter, to paint a picture. She chose to do the scene from our Christmas cards in oil pastels-- I believe it's the Mikhailovsky Church on the Andreyvskyi Descent. I still want a watercolor from her, because her style is exactly what I love!

Our closest friends among the neighbors-- Dima with Ella on the bottom of the couch, and Maxim from the 10th floor between the Coe boys.





Maxim's grandmother--Natasha, and Dima's mom--Lena, and I had tea together one last time.

Danya taught Ella how to fix our stools. And he and Tima fixed and 'unfixed' a bunch themselves. Then we sold them, and the rug they were on, and all the other little furnishings we'd bought this year!

Feb 16, 2008, Arrived in Russia!

Just a quick note to let you know we had two great flights today. We arrived in St Petersburg this afternoon, and we’re now staying at our teammates’ apartment. Chris and Trish Huddleston have two boys ages 5 and 8. They arrived here just a month ago, and we’ve all been eagerly anticipating actually meeting. The boys had a great time playing all afternoon. And we enjoyed dinner with our other teammates, Cheryl and Lena.